Season Preview: Sunderland

Sunderland, much like Stoke City in yesterday’s preview, have firmly established their Premier League status after their promotion into the league three seasons ago under Roy Keane. Now going into their fourth season on the trot – now under the managership of Steve Bruce – the vibes around the Stadium of Light are very positive.

After a spell of dismal form in the middle of last season, the Black Cats were resigned to a 13th placed finish but it should have been much higher. The signing of Darren Bent from Spurs last summer revitalised his and Sunderland’s life and it was his goals that had them where they were in the league, and had it not been for lack of form in other areas other areas of the field – Sunderland were well within a top ten finish.

Sunderland got off to a fantastic start last season, winning five of their opening nine games and remained a mainstay in the top ten all the way until December when poor form hit. After that they failed to win a game in fourteen attempts, the form of a relegation side. But five more wins in their remaining ten games was enough to finish 13th, just shy of the top ten.

Next season Bruce will be looking to scupper any signs of bad form at the beginning, because any repeat of last season’s string of defeats and they mightn’t be so lucky.

WHAT’S CHANGED?

It’s been a busy enough summer for transfer news at Sunderland, with four players arriving, five leaving, a couple more players rumoured to be going and many more linked with moving to the Stadium of Light.

One interesting move is Titus Bramble, who returns to work with Steve Bruce after playing under him at Wigan. Bramble has been an interesting figure in English football, often regarded as one of the worst to grace the Premier League but he got his football in order at Wigan and played terrificly at times. A move to Sunderland is another step in the right direction for the former Newcastle and Ipswich defender.

Also arriving through the doors at Sunderland is Egyptian international Ahmed Al-Muhammadi, on a season long loan from ENPPI. The 22-year-old can play anywhere down the right flank, and is regarded as one of the biggest talents of Egyptian football.

Also signed is Cristian Riveros from Cruz Azul, after playing in the World Cup with Paraguay, where he scored one goal against Slovakia in the group stage. He’s joined by young Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who signs from Sint-Truidense – and it is believed Sunderland beat a number of clubs, including Udinese and PSV Eindhoven, to the 21-year-old’s signature.

The sale of Lorik Cana to Galatasaray came as a surprise to many, especially after his fantastic single season at Sunderland. Bruce may consider bringing in another centre midfielder to bolster the position. Also leaving is Daryl Murphy, who are a few loan spells away from the club, joins Celtic in the SPL.

Before the window shuts there could be a few more names going through the doors, but the squad is in a good position and meets all the criteria needed.

Tactics: Steve Bruce is another advocate of the 4-4-2 formation, and rarely changed that last season. With Andy Reid and Steed Malbranque out wide the team doesn’t have superior wing play but they do like to play behind the defence and use Darren Bent’s pace, often dragging him (or Fraizer Campbell) out into wide positions. The loss of Lorik Cana is huge, but Jordan Henderson is a great young player and is capable of holding his own in the centre alongside Lee Cattermole. It is a very dynamic, vibrant young central partnership that should flourish. Bruce should use the attacking instincts of Al-Muhammadi from the right back position.

Key Player: It’s not often a team’s key player is a striker, but that’s the case for Sunderland. Darren Bent has revived his career at Sunderland and it’s his goals that has them where they are. It was a smart move from Bruce to spend so much money on the former Tottenham forward, but one that’s paying off with his vital goals.

Fixtures: Sunderland will be happy to kick-off their campaign at home to Birmingham, in what should be an evenly matched tie. They then visit West Brom at the Hawthorns in another winnable game, before a home against Manchester City, an away game against Wigan and a trip to Arsenal.

Where will they finish? It is a very strong unit that has been built, with a decent defence and excellent attacking options. The loss of Lorik Cana is big to the starting eleven, but the options there should do a good job. If Darren Bent repeats last season form, and if they can avoid any mis-season mishaps. 11th

6 Responses

I like Sunderland and Steve Bruce. Surely another mid table finish though. Will be interested to see how Al-Muhammadi does as I thought they would have tried to re-sign Hutton. They will need to keep Cattermole fit especially considering Cana’s departure.

I believe Cristian Riveros is the man to fill the gap left by the sale of Lorik Cana. He’s a very dynamic centre midfield, who’s been doing a great job for Libertad/Cruz Azul and Paraguay in the last four years. I bet he’ll make it in the Premier League. What about argentinian Marcos Angeleri? Haven’t Sunderland signed him from Estudiantes de La Plata?

I’m from Brazil, so I can talk a little about these two South Americans.

Angeleri is a hard-working defensive full-back, often used as cover for the centre-backs at Estudiantes. He has a lot of strenght and we can’t say he’s on the slow side. But he lacks the technical skills to be a complete full-back. He’s a good option if Steve Bruce wants a more defensive set-up.

Cristian Riveros is not the creative and goal-hungry midfield, definitely not. But neither was Cana, was he? Riveros is a very dynamic player which is very effective recovering possession as well as an interesting quick passer, for counter-attacking and fast transition.